Sir Kakashi's in Love?
by Sutefani-chan
Summary: Naruto, Sasuke and Sakura were transported to the past, 10 years ago, when Sakura found a time portkey leading them back to their teacher's teen days. Something tells that they're bound to find something interesting about their sensei's love life KAxOC
1. Dares and Consequences

OHAYO! HERE I AM AGAIN WITH YET ANOTHER FIC…WHY DO I KEEP ON SAYING THAT? ANYWAY…

THIS IS MY FIRST NARUTO FIC, SINCE I'VE BEEN ENGROSSED TO WRITING RK, HP AND THE COUNT OF MONTE CRISTO FICS…

DISCLAIMER: I DON'T OWN ANY OF THE NARUTO CHARACTERS, PLACES AND ANYTHING PERTAINING TO IT THAT IS NOT MINE…OKAY…

SUMMARY: NARUTO, SASUKE AND SAKURA WERE TRANSPORTED TO THE PAST, 10 YEARS AGO WHEN SAKURA FOUND A TIME PORTKEY LEADING THEM TO THEIR TEACHER'S TEEN DAYS. WHAT? KAKASHI IS IN LOVE? I MUST BE GETTING SOFT…

**SIR KAKASHI'S IN LOVE?** **By Sutefani-chan**

**CHAPTER 1**

**DARES AND CONSEQUENCES**

"C'mon, Naruto. Don't tell me you're giving up already," smirked Sasuke as he finally reached the top branch of the tree. Naruto stood there below him, panting as he bent down, clutching his fists on his knees tightly.

He looked up fiercely at Sasuke.

"I-don't-think-so-knucklehead!" Naruto yelled.

Sasuke raised his eyebrows, "Oh yeah?"

"Oh – yes," and just like light, Naruto sprang from his feet and climbed the tree, stepping on it's trunk just like ground. But then, Sasuke leapt to a nearby tree just before Naruto could reach him.

"You piece of an airhead," muttered Naruto angrily and chased Sasuke, leaping from tree to tree.

"What's the matter, Naruto? Can't keep up?" called Sasuke.

"Yurusai!"

"You're going to need a lot more chakra to keep up with me!"

"Hey! What's that supposed to mean?"

Sasuke sped up and as he leaped to a nearby branch he suddenly disappeared mid-air. Naruto stopped in his tracks.

_Where the heck did he go?_ He wondered as he prepared himself for defense.

"I know what you're up to, ice man!" shouted Naruto even though he had no clue as of where Sasuke might be hiding. But, nobody answered back.

_That's odd,_ Naruto thought.

_Wait;_ he alerted himself, _he could be anywhere._

"Hey, ice man! I know what you're up to and guess what? It won't work because I know perfectly well what you're gonna do!"

Just then, Naruto froze as he felt a familiar and strong ki from behind him. Sasuke somehow managed to appear behind him out of nowhere.

"Oh yeah? Scaredy-cat?" smirked Sasuke. Just then, with a flick from his finger, Naruto lost his balance and he slid off from the branch of the tree. Good thing Sasuke caught his leg just in time. Naruto's eyes were wide in shock.

"I told you, you need a lot more chakra to keep up with me," he grinned at Naruto. Naruto just stared at him in shock.

It was a sunny noon when the two decided to train in the woods while their teacher was guarding them close to their training vicinity. Somewhere not far enough, Sakura was busy preparing their lunch fro the picnic.

After the 'competitive training', the two finally took a break and went to where Sakura was. Sakura quickly noticed them.

"Finished training? C'mon, I've prepared lunch for all of us!" she called out. Without hesitating, the two joined Sakura and ate like they've never eaten before. Sakura raised her eyebrow and was a bit taken aback.

"So, was the training really hard?" she asked them. But the two just continued gobbling.

"I guess that's a yes."

* * *

"Ah! I'm so full!" exclaimed Naruto as he stretched his arms and laid down on the grassy surface, facing the cloudless sky under a tree shade. Sasuke was sitting on his left contemplating on something while Sakura was kneeling on his right, staring immensely at the beautiful lake before them. They've just finished eating and decided to take a rest under a tree shade.

Naruto stared up above him as the leaves and the branches of the tree merely blocking his view of the sky were rustling as the wind blew. Silence. He didn't like it much, and he thought of something to say that would definitely lighten up the mood. Then, a thought struck him.

"Hey, guys! Ever wondered if Kakashi-sensei has a girlfriend?"

The two suddenly turned to look at him. Naruto grinned to himself.

"What do you mean?" Sasuke asked.

"You know…a lover or something," he replied.

Sakura shook her head and said, "Naruto, you know that it is written in the code that a ninja must put his missions first before anything else, including his feelings and emotions. Kakashi-sensei couldn't possibly have a girlfriend for now, now that he is a jounin and all."

Naruto raised a brow at her. "And so?"

Heaving a sigh, she answered, " I think you should rephrase your sentence to, 'Has Kakashi-sensei ever had been in love?'" Naruto just shrugged at her.

"By the way," she continued, "why did you ask?"

"Nandemonai," he shrugged again, "it's just that he seems too laid-back and well, he doesn't look like the one who would easily fall in love or who would ever fall in love. He seems too…caught up with that darn book."

All three heads turned to their right. Not far enough but out of earshot, Hatake Kakashi stood reading the same book he was reading when they were first assigned to him, his back leaning against the trunk of the tree.

"Sure," said Sakura, "Everybody falls in love." By the way that she had said it, she glanced at Sasuke and then she blushed. She didn't notice Naruto glancing at her, his cheeks red.

"So it means that there's a possibility that Kakashi-sensei could have fallen in love! Yukata!" He cheered and made an 'all right!" gesture.

Just then, Sasuke lowered his head and muttered, "Bakeru."

Naruto cast him a glare, "Nani?"

"What makes you so sure that Kakashi-sensei could have fallen in love? Not all feels that way."

"Oh yeah?" Naruto suddenly stood up, glaring at Sasuke.

"Bakeru," Sasuke muttered once more. This made Naruto furious.

He had stick out his index finger, pointing at Sasuke.

"If that's what you think, Uchiha Sasuke, then I'm inviting you to a dare!" he yelled at him. Sasuke quickly looked up at him, surprised.

"Nani?"

"I dare you to a challenge more likely. I challenge you to go to Kakashi-sensei's apartment this afternoon when he's usually busy attending to his Jounin businesses and search for a proof or something that proves that he has indeed been in love!"

"Are you insane?" Sakura couldn't believe him.

"That sounds implausible. No, rephrase that. That's implausible," Sasuke told him.

"Oh, are you scared of a little challenge, Sasuke?" taunted Naruto while pouting, complete with puppy dog eyes.

Sasuke glowered at him, "Nani?"

"Scaredy-cat?"

"Look who's talking? Ha! You're on!"

Sakura gave them dubious looks.

"Are you guys insane? This isn't right! You'll get caught!"

"If you're not with us then better as well go home," grinned Naruto at her. Sakura glared at him, "You guys are going to be so sorry."

Sasuke turned to her, "Why? Are you gonna tell on us?" Sakura's eyes widened. "No! Nevertheless, you'll only get into big trouble!"

Naruto frowned at her, "Ah, phooey! That's what scaredy-cats say! So, Sasuke, let's meet at the store in front of Kakashi-sensei's apartment by 3:00! And you better show up!"

He held out his hand to Sasuke.

"I think we've got ourselves a deal, " he said through gritted teeth as he shook Naruto's hand.

TBC

* * *

AUTHOR'S NOTES: SO HOW WAS IT? PLEASE DO TELL ME BY CLICKING THAT 'GO' BUTTON ON THE BOTTOM LEFT SIDE OF YOUR SCREEN AND GIVING IT A GO…HEHEHE…(MAN, WHY DO I KEEP ON REPEATING THESE THINGS?) ANYWAY…

I KNOW IT'S QUITE SHORT FOR A FIRST CHAPTER, BUT I PROMISE I'LL MAKE IT UP TO YOU IN THE NEXT CHAPPIE…THAT, I PROMISE YOU.

Yurusai – shut up

Nandemonai – nothing

Yukata – I know it means alright or okay but please do correct me if I'm wrong…

Nani – what

Bakeru – idiot


	2. Dares and Consequences II

OHAYO! SORRY FROM THE LATE UPDATE…HEHEHE…

**SIR KAKASHI'S IN LOVE? By Sutefani-chan**

**CHAPTER 2**

**DARES AND CONSEQUENCES II**

He stood there, staring at the door before him.

_Should I lock the door? _He thought.

He wondered for a moment, then turning round he shrugged, "Nah." With this, he left for the Hokage's place.

* * *

Naruto discreetly went towards the store, checking for any signs of Sasuke. _He's not yet here?_ He wondered. He smirked to himself, _Humph, I should have known_. "Scaredy-cat."

"Really? Look who's talking."

"Whoa!" yelled Naruto and turned around, standing face to face with Sasuke, "H-

How… d-dare…y-you," he panted.

"Scared you, scaredy-cat?" he snickered at him. Naruto cast him a glare.

"Ha! I thought you would never show up!" snickered Naruto, regaining himself.

"If I know, you're willing to back out so badly. Scaredy-cat, are you?"

"Nani!"

He heaved a sigh, "You're making this day longer. Let's get on with it, shall we?"

"Stupid ice man." Naruto muttered under his breath as he followed behind Sasuke.

"Wait!" Sasuke suddenly stopped as he held out his arm, blocking Naruto.

Naruto froze in his place, "Nandayou?"

"Someone is in our midst."

Naruto's eyes widened.

"Aah! Do you think it is Kakashi-sensei?"

Sasuke narrowed his eyes, "I don't think so."

They silenced for a moment as Sasuke discreetly studied the ki surrounding them. He quickly took his kunai and positioned himself.

"Show yourself!"

They quickly turned to their left. Ahead of them was a row of houses and a thin post. No trace of an intruder could be seen.

"He's hiding, isn't he?" muttered Naruto.

Sasuke nodded, "But he can be a she."

They waited for a moment. Suddenly, a form appeared behind the post. The figure stepped aside. Heaving a sigh, the two lowered their kunai. The intruder was none other than Sakura.

"You scared the hell out of us!" scowled Naruto at her. Sakura approached them; hands on her hips with a stern look on her face.

"I told you not to go. You guys are going to be in big trouble," she told them.

"That's if Kakashi-sensei finds out, which he will not!" said Naruto.

"And how can you be that sure?"

"We're wasting time," Sasuke suddenly said which made the two look at him.

Sakura was quite surprised at him, "You're-going-for-this… Sasuke?" But Sasuke ignored her and made his way towards Kakashi's apartment.

Naruto turned to Sakura, "Well then, I think we have to go now. If you're not with us, I guess you have to go home now!" He grinned widely at her and followed Sasuke. Sakura glared at them, _stupid monkeys… now what?_

She heaved a sigh._ I guess this leaves me no choice._

"Hey, guys! Wait up for me!" she called out as she ran towards them. Naruto grinned at her.

"I thought you said we'll be in big trouble?" he teased her. Sakura glowered at him.

Suddenly, their attention drifted to the door before them.

"Now, how are we going to open the door?" worried Sakura. Upon hearing this, Naruto smirked.

"Humph, leave it to me!" With the smirk still present on his face, he grabbed the doorknob and he pushed, budged and pulled with all the force that he could muster. Much to his dismay, the door didn't even budge.

"Wow! That… was… one… heck… of … a… door," panted Naruto as beads of sweat formed on his forehead.

"Step aside," snarled Sasuke and grabbed the doorknob, banging the door hard, "It-won't-budge!"

"That's not how it is done, you moron!" yelled Naruto and started kicking the door.

While the two were busy "destroying" the door, Sakura was consumed in her own thoughts. _What if…_

Then, with a snap of her fingers, she silently approached the door, passing between Sasuke and Naruto. She held the doorknob and casually turned it clockwise. To the two's surprise, the door opened. She turned to the two and smiled at them mischievously. Because of embarrassment, the two's faces went red.

Carefully and silently, they entered the Hatake residence. It was quite dark inside and so they have to find the light switch.

"Wait!" cried Naruto, "There could be booby traps." Sakura lifted a brow at him. When Sasuke found the light switch, he immediately turned it on.

The room was a bit messy. Papers were scattered everywhere. A rumpled gray shirt could be seen hanging on the armrest of a chair. It was obvious that it was been thrown there carelessly, maybe because of hurry. To their right was a kitchen, and in the kitchen sink laid unwashed dishes as the water dripped on the plates from the faucet above the sink. They decided to roam around and investigate.

"This proves that Kakashi-sensei isn't certainly a neat freak," Sakura suddenly said out loud. Sasuke nodded in approval as he inspected the approximately a pile of papers scattered on the floor.

_Hey, what's this?_ Naruto wondered as he noticed a paperback book lying on top of the table. He picked it up. It was written on the cover, _Come Come Paradise. _

"Hey, I know this!"

"What's that?" Sakura said as she approached Naruto, Sasuke following close behind her.

"This is the book Kakashi-sensei's engrossed into," grinned Naruto.

"Really?"

"Hai."

"What's it about?" Sasuke wondered. Naruto opened the book and started reading the first page. But before he could even reach the half of the page, their cheeks went pink. He quickly shut the book close.

"That was interesting," muttered Sakura sarcastically.

_Huh?_ Sasuke suddenly noticed two doors ahead of them. The two immediately noticed the doors to. Naruto gave a wide grin.

"One of that door leads to Kakashi-sensei's bedroom!" exclaimed Naruto.

"Wait," frowned Sakura, "we're not supposed to go in there."

"Oh, scared, are you?" taunted Naruto.

Sakura shot him a glare, "It's what we call 'total invasion of privacy', dimwit!"

"Oh, c'mon!" and Naruto went for the left door. He slid it open and went inside. It was just a small, dark room filled with wooden and paper boxes and some other stuff, mostly junk. The interior of the room consists of pretty much nothing except dust and cobwebs hanging in every corner in the ceiling of the room. The room looked more like a junk storeroom.

"This doesn't look like Kakashi-sensei's storeroom," frowned Naruto. Sakura sighed in relief as she entered the dark room with Sasuke following behind.

"Is it safe in here?" mumbled Sakura worriedly.

"Hey, look at those boxes!" Naruto wondered as he checked out the boxes stacked in the room. He took one box and opened it.

Sasuke wondered the room, carefully studying the surrounding.

"These are nothing but junk!" spat Naruto, as he was busily digging into the box, searching for something interesting.

"Is it safe in here? It's a bit dark. Do they have a light bulb in here or something?" mumbled Sakura worriedly once more. _Hmm, what's that?_ She wondered as she noticed a peculiar book lying hidden behind two paper boxes and went over to pick it up.

"Hey, guys! Look! I found something!" Sakura called out to the two. Sasuke and Naruto immediately went over to her.

"What's that?" Naruto wondered aloud as he and Sasuke looked over her shoulder to see what it was.

"It's a book, you moron," said Sasuke.

"I know it's a book, ice man! I'm not stupid!" yelled Naruto at him.

_Sigh! When will these two ever stop?_ Sakura rolled her eyes and opened the book. _Nani?_ On the first page, an inscription written in kanji figures caught her eye.

"Look!" She suddenly said, pointing to the text. The two suddenly stopped and stared at the writing.

"It's some sort of an inscription," said Sasuke.

Sakura cleared her throat as she browsed the text with her finger.

"Ho. Inu. Konoha," She read out loud. There was silence for a moment, and then…

"What's that supposed to mean?" grumbled Naruto as he scratched his head. Sasuke just raised his eyebrows at the text.

Sakura frowned as her eyes met in confusion, "This isn't right. This doesn't make any sense! Fire, dog, Konoha…what do these things mean?"

"Wait," Sasuke suddenly spoke, "I bet these things each represents something." Sakura's eyes perked up.

He continued, "Fire could represent the fire country and Konoha is, obviously…Konoha. But I don't know what's with the second word."

Sakura's cheeks went pink, "Oh, Sasuke! You're a genius!"

_Che! I've thought of that too, and I would have suggested that if not only Sasuke managed to steal the spotlight again, _scowled Naruto.

Sakura returned her attention to the book. She flipped to the next page. It was blank.

Sakura's eyes widened. She flipped through the pages. "This can't be it. There's got to be some more writing in here or something!"

Suddenly to their horror, rays of light shot out from the book.

"What's happening?" startled Naruto.

The light became bigger and bigger. Sakura dropped the book to the ground and the three started to escape but the light grew larger and eventually devoured them.

"Sasuke…Naruto, " cried Sakura. By instinct, Naruto quickly grabbed Sakura and Sasuke's hands as they were continuously falling into an abyss of blinding light.

And that was that. The blinding light suddenly disappeared as if it was a flash coming from a camera and all that were left in the room were boxes stacked carelessly, cobwebs hanging in every corner of the ceiling of the room and a wordless and picture- less book lying idly on the cold floor.

The three were nowhere in sight.

TBC-

**

* * *

AUTHOR'S NOTES: Ah! So I've finally updated chapter, which is a long update. Gomen! I was currently working on a new Naruto fic, and my type-er (my sister) and I am not in good terms so I have to type it myself while writing this story. More like, well, multi-tasking…sort of.**

**AN IMPORTANT REMINDER: I would like to strongly remind you that this is not a gay fic! There is no way I'm going to put Kakashi in a gay fic! Ugh!**

Anyway, onwith the reviewer notes…

**HIKARUOF DREAMS: **THANK YOU FOR READING AND REVIEWING! ARIGATO! YOU'RE MY FIRST REVIEWER! I HOPE YOU KEEP ON READING!

**ENCHANTEDSLEEPER:** YOU REVIEWED MY FIRST RK FIC, THEN MY SECOND RK FIC AND NOW MY FIRST-EVER NARUTO FIC…ARIGATO DE GOZAIMASU! YES, NARUTO AND SASUKE ARE IN FOR A BIG TROUBLE! DEFINITELY! ANYWAYS, I HOPE YOU KEEP ON READING! THANK YOU AGAIN!

**ONIONIGIRI (OR IS IT ONI-ONIGIRI? SORRY…):** YOU'RE A KAKASHI FAN? I'M A KAKASHI FAN TOO! IF EVER I OWN NARUTO, I'M GONNA MAKE HIM MINE! HEHEHE…I'M BEING WEIRD AGAIN. DON'T WORRY, I'M NOT GONNA MAKE THIS A GAY FIC. EWWW! NEVER! I HATE GAY FICS! WHENEVER I CHECK OUT SOME GETBACKERS FICS, THE PAIRINGS ARE ALWAYS YAOI, MOSTLY GINJI-BAN…SNIFF…I LIKE BAN AND I'M REALLY DEVASTATED TO SEE THOSE KIND OF FICS…ARGH! WHAT'S WITH THEM ANYWAY? AND PEOPLE LIKE IT! ARGH! HEY, THANKS FOR THE CORRECTIONS! IT REALLY HELPED ME A LOT. ARIGATO FOR READING AND REVIEWING!

**PINKSTAR146:** YEY! YOU REVIEWED! HEHEHE…YOU'RE ALWAYS THERE WHEN I'M HAVING A SERIOUS MENTAL BLOCK – I LOVE YOU FOR IT! GO, MABBI!

**HIMAWARI:** THANK YOU FOR READING AND REVIEWING! SO IT'S YOKATA…HMMM…ARIGATO FOR THE CORRECTION! NOW I'LL BE ABLE TO USE IT MORE OFTEN WITHOUT ANY MORE MISTAKES! WOOHOO! HOPE YOU'LL KEEP ON READING!

Anyway, I must bid farewell for now but I promise I'll be back soon with yet another chapter! See ya!

NARUTO: (grinning wickedly ear to ear)

SAKURA: (raises a brow) Ei, what has gotten into you?

NARUTO: (rubbing his hands together) I have the feeling this is going to be so much fun!

SASUKE: (sighs heavily at Naruto)

SUTEFANI-CHAN: (grins mischievously) Naruto, I couldn't agree with you more.

(The three started to look at the newcomer as if she was a ghost)

SASUKE: Wait, where the heck did SHE come from?

SUTEFANI-CHAN: LOL!


	3. The Konoha We Never Knew

FIRST OF ALL…SORRY FOR THE LATE UPDATE! OKAY, SO I WON'T STATE ALL MY EXCUSES HERE, BUT ANYWAY ON WITH THE STORY! GOSH, WHAT IS HAPPENING TO ME? ANYWAY, REVIEWER NOTES AND AUTHOR'S NOTES ARE AFTER THE CHAPPIE…HOPE YOU LIKE THIS ONE!

STANDARD DISCLAIMER APPLIES: I DON'T OWN THE ANIME AND THE MANGA, NARUTO…OKAY? HAPPY?

**SIR KAKASHI'S IN LOVE? By Sutefani-cha**n 

**CHAPTER 3**

**THE KONOHA WE NEVER KNEW**

The soft thud of his head to the ground brought a bit of pain to his nerves. He curled his fingers and felt that what he had landed on was grassy surface. He was about to figure out what must've happened when the thought of his companions entered his mind.

_Iie!_

He forcefully opened his eyes amidst the headache. Before him was the blue, cloudless sky. _Nani?_ He quickly sat up and turned to his right. There, lying with their faces to the ground were Sakura and Naruto.

"Sakura! Naruto!" he mumbled as he shook their shoulders gently, checking if they were conscious or not.

"Sasuke-kun?" Sakura murmured as she finally came to her senses.

"What happened?" grumbled Naruto as he sat up groggily, massaging the back of his neck.

"Shiranai (I don't know)," muttered Sasuke without even looking at him, then he tried to stand up.

"All that I can remember is we being sucked up by a blinding light coming from the book and the last thing I know is this!" said Sakura.

Sasuke pondered on it for a moment. Come to think of it, he did remember something about a peculiar blank book shedding incredible light that eventually devoured them. _Wait. Could it be…?_ Could they have been sucked into the book? But, how? Suddenly, he remembered the odd inscription on the first page of the book. _Okay, so maybe it wasn't really blank._ HO. INU. KONOHA. Could they be a chant that brought them to another dimension? To where they were now? But, where were they now exactly?

Then, as if magic, the answer suddenly appeared to him. There, just below him – from the hill where they were standing – stood the village of Konoha.

"How did we end up in _here_?" wondered Naruto, studying the grassy surroundings around them, "We were in Kakashi-sensei's apartment before this, weren't we?"

"Matte! (Wait!) Do you think that…? What if…?" She glanced fretfully at the direction of Sasuke. Sasuke met her glance and closed his eyes, lowering his head. Sakura gasped. Her worst fear yet was confirmed.

"NANI! WE'RE STUCK IN A BOOK?" she shrieked.

"NANI?" bellowed Naruto.

"We can't be stuck in a book! How are we ever going to get out?" panicked Sakura, clasping her cheeks with her hands.

"Wait. How can you say that we're actually trapped inside a book?" doubted Naruto.

"It's obvious, isn't it, dobe? You witnessed what had just happened!" said Sasuke. He was getting a little tense too.

"Don't call me an idiot, you freak! Are you saying there are no other options left?" yelled Naruto. Upon hearing this, Sakura quickly hit Naruto on the face.

"Sasuke-kun's not a freak, baka! And to let you know, there is still one option left…"

Both heads turned to look at her.

She continued, "…Which is to go down to the village and see for ourselves. What if we were only transported outside Kakashi-sensei's apartment and not actually inside the book? What if this was just some sort of genjutsu Kakashi-sensei had put to ward off burglars or some sort? That can happen, hai?"

Naruto brought his fingers to his chin, "Hmm…yes, I think that can happen." Then, all of a sudden, he raised his fist in the air, "Yokata! Sakura-chan!"

Sakura looked at Sasuke hopingly. Sasuke just nodded at her. Sighing, she said, "Well then. Let's go, shall we?"

* * *

They quietly walked the streets of Konoha, discreetly studying the surroundings around them. Oddly, the atmosphere was a bit stiff. They couldn't quite trace the joyousness the village they knew held, and they knew something was wrong. Sure, it was peaceful, but it was oddly peaceful. It was like something was missing, but they can't tell what it was.

As they continued to walk, the people around them was staring at them like they were strangers from another village. What was absurd though was that some of the villagers there that they saw weren't usual faces in Konoha. They couldn't even recall seeing them before, but now _those_ villagers were the ones looking at the three as if they weren't Konoha residents. Sasuke felt this most unlikely welcome. _Something's not really right here,_ he assumed.

"Why is everything…different around here?" Sakura wondered under her breath. She felt suddenly uneasy as the villagers continued to stare at them, murmuring words to each other.

"Hey, I'm hungry. Wanna go for some ramen?" Naruto suggested.

Sakura sighed, "You go ahead. We're not hungry."

"Aww, c'mon!" he quickly grabbed the two and dragged them to Naruto's famous haven – the Ichiraku. When they had finally arrived there, Naruto squealed in glee. "Hai! Ramen, here I come!"

He went to the counter/table and sat on the stool.

"Ohayo! Three beef ramen, dozo! (Please!)" He ordered cheerily.

"Is that all?" asked the man from behind the counter.

"Anou, make it four – ACK!" He gasped as he stared at the man in front of him.

"Nani, Naruto?" grumbled Sakura as she slapped her forehead hopelessly.

"A-Anatawa…anatawa…" He continued to gape at the confused clerk.

"What's the matter with you?" murmured Sasuke as cast an annoyed look at Naruto.

"Wh-Where…where is the old man?" Naruto suddenly asked the clerk. The clerk raised his eyebrow.

"You know, the one who manages this ramen stand?" The man blinked at him.

"I'm the only one who manages this store ever since I was young. Nobody has ever run this store except me. Are you alright kid?" He asked Naruto worriedly.

Naruto studied the man carefully, bringing his right hand to his chin as his right elbow rested on the back of his left hand, his left arm against his chest. He caressed his chin with his fingers, doing it so in an 'assuming manner'. The man was about forty or so; his hair was neatly slicked back in a short bun, a few white hairs sticking out beneath the black layers. There were a few creases on his face but it wasn't that obvious. He appeared quite healthy and he wasn't thin nor was he obese.

Naruto scratched his head in confusion. _He can't be him_, he thought. The man who was standing before him wasn't the one Naruto was thinking he would be. The clerk in Naruto's mind happened to be an old man of about fifty or so, is a bit bald in the center if not only for the remaining black hair sticking in his large head. The man he was picturing wasn't at all the man he was seeing right in front of him. Sure, they do look similar in some way but this one was younger from the one he was thinking who was…a bit old.

"Hey, baka!" Sasuke suddenly hit Naruto's head. "Stop staring."

"Hey! What did you do that for?" Naruto moaned.

"Sumimasen, but I have to work now," excused the clerk and then waited on the other customer who had just arrived. Naruto gave one last glance at the man and huddled close to Sasuke and Sakura.

"Anou, did you notice anything different from the guy or this place?"

Sasuke smirked, "Yes, you."

Naruto glared at him, "Iie, you ice man. Do you know who that guy is?"

Sakura peered closely to get a look at the clerk. Then, she gasped.

"Yatta! He looks like the old man who used to run the stand!" she mumbled, bewildered.

Naruto nodded, "Hai."

Sasuke glanced at the clerk and then turned to them, "I hate to say this but I think you're right. He must have been replaced while we were at Kakashi-sensei's apartment. Maybe, HE'S the old man's son or something."

"Bakeru! The old man doesn't have a son! He doesn't have a family – well, maybe once – but not now!" shot Naruto at him.

"You're a fan of him, aren't you?" said Sakura blankly.

Naruto grinned at her, "I'm a fan of his ramen."

_Naruto, you ravenous pig_, thought Sasuke grimly.

"So you're assuming that this guy here is the same man who used to serve in this place, only that this guy is the younger version of that old man. Am I right?" said Sakura.

Naruto nodded.

"So, you're point is that there's a possibility that we've might been transported to the past, which is where we're in now," figured Sasuke. Naruto widened his eyes in approval. All three went silent.

_There's only one way to find out_, Sasuke thought. He went up to the man behind the counter and asked, "Sumimasen, demo, what year is it now?"

The clerk looked at him as if he came from Mars.

"Why, it's 1995, boy! Are you sure you kids are all right? Do you want me to make ramen for the three of you?" he said as he eyed at them worriedly.

"Yokata!" cheered Naruto, "Hai. Onegai?" (Please?)

Sasuke froze in his place. 1995? There was no way they could be transported 10 years back, he thought. How? Then he suddenly remembered something. _Unless…_

Sakura suddenly dragged Naruto by the ear and away from the clerk then she hit him squarely on the head. She hissed at him, " Bakeru! We've just found out that we've been transported 10 years back and here you still crave for a free ramen!"

Naruto rubbed the sore part of his head, "Sakura-chaaaan…"

"Sakura!" Sasuke suddenly called her. Sakura's eyes perked up as she turned to look at him, "Nani, Sasuke-kun?"

"Could the book we had found in Kakashi-sensei's apartment caused all of these?" he dreaded for the worst. The two turned at him with horrified looks on their faces.

"I think we've been trapped inside the book somehow after all," Naruto gasped.

* * *

They walked out of the ramen stand without uttering a word to each other. Upon coming to a realization they've been dreading for a long period of time – well, not really long – they were too mesmerized to even think of something to say or do. They couldn't be trapped inside the book or be transported to another period of time. How would they ever get back? What would happen to them and to the people they've left behind? Would their Kakashi-sensei eventually find the book and realize that his three gennins are gone? Most importantly, what if they could never go back and be stuck inside the book…forever?

They continued to walk, not sure of where they would be heading to. If they were transported to the past 10 years back, then it means that they already existed in this time, two years old to be exact. Should they go to their homes now? No, it could make things more complicated. Just then, one thing dawned upon the three of them. If they already existed in this time, then it means that they could prevent the mistakes that happened in their lives and make them right. Curiosity overcame them. All of them had their unfinished businesses somehow.

They sat under a cherry blossom tree beside the road in silence where not much villagers pass by. It didn't quite occur to them what had just happened. They couldn't just be transported to another dimension by the book. The three couldn't believe it. Was someone playing them, perhaps?

"Argh! Naruto, this is all your fault!" Sakura suddenly blurted out. Naruto cast her a confused yet defensive look, "What do you mean it's all my fault?"

"If it weren't for you and your stupid dare, we wouldn't be stuck here, 10 years back to be exact!"

"Ahhh…Sakura-chaaaaaan…"

Sakura growled at him and stubbornly crossed her arms, leaning her back against the tree. She turned to her right, noticing that Sasuke was being seriously quiet, contemplating on something. _Sasuke-kun_ worried Sakura. She knew what was disturbing Sasuke's mind. Now that they've realized that they were in the past, they could prevent all the mistakes that happened in the future – which is their present – and make things better for their benefits.

She didn't think twice about what was on Sasuke's mind. She knew that Sasuke was planning to prevent the downfall of the Uchiha clan – his family. She knew that he wanted to prevent the tragedy that had once befallen on his family. It was all vivid now.

"Anou…" Naruto started, "If we already existed now, which is the past, then it means that our teachers already existed too!"

"DUH!" Sakura muttered.

"I know but what I'm trying to say is that they exist now in their teen versions!"

"And so?"

"And so, we will be able to know more about them and see what they were like during their teen years…which is now!"

"Naruto, you nosy coot!" Sasuke barked at him.

"I AM NOT A NOSY COOT, Y-YOU…YOU INSUFFERABLE ICE MAN!"

Shocked, Sakura was about to slap Naruto for saying something horrible to her Sasuke-kun when she restrained herself from doing so as to not make matters worse.

"Maa, maa…cut it out, you two," she sighed. _What am I like, your nanny?_

"Can't you think of anything more productive to do besides meddling other people's lives?" shot Sasuke at Naruto. Naruto turned his glare away from him. No matter how jolly Naruto may seem, he has also some things he desperately hope having, and problems wherein he stays late at night to be trampled upon, but is always trying to be optimistic in end. He was only human after all.

Ever since they've been transported ten years back, this gave him the opportunity to know about his past. He wanted to know what happened to his parents and where he was when he was still a baby or who took care of him. But all he knew was that he was an orphan ever since birth, but that didn't give him the idea to back out so easily.

Suddenly, they heard faint voices. They quickly looked to their left. From not far enough, they saw a group of boys with forehead protectors bearing the sign of Konoha walking towards their direction on the road. Their eyes fell on a certain ninja amidst the group. He appeared to have brown hair tied in a high yet short pony. His skin was a bit tan and he was carrying that familiar warm smile and ambience. The three gasped. They couldn't be wrong; he obviously had to be…

"Iruka-sensei!" waved Naruto loudly enough for the whole street to hear. Sakura quickly grabbed Naruto by the waist and covered his mouth with her free hand as Naruto tried to struggle free from her grasps.

"Bakeru! What are you trying to do? They still don't know us in this time! Heck, they don't even know we exist yet! You're trying to get us into serious trouble. Baka!" hissed Sakura madly at him. But it was too late. The fifteen-year old Iruka was now heading towards them with a confused look on his face.

"Sumimasen, anou…what did you just called me with?" he asked, bewildered at the same time suspicious.

It was funny though, seeing their teacher as a fifteen-year old gennin in front of them – who they assume he was, considering that he wasn't wearing his chuunin gear. He was now facing them in a black shirt with a gray plain vest on top of it. He was wearing for the bottom part a khaki-colored cargo shorts.

"Ohayo! Uh…anou…" Naruto grinned as he scratched the back of his head.

"Anou… how did you know my name? Hey, I don't see you guys around here before." Iruka glanced at their forehead protectors. _They're from here,_ he thought.

"Uh…we're, anou…newly appointed gennins?" Sakura said. It was more of a suggestion than a statement.

"NEWLY-APPOI –!" Sasuke cut off Naruto as he quickly stood up and grabbed Naruto, covering his mouth. "Mmf ---mfff!"

"I see," Iruka surprisingly brought the lie. "So, who's your assigned jounin?"

_Uh-oh, I haven't thought of that_, Sakura panicked. She quickly turned to Sasuke and Naruto for help. Unfortunately, they just stared at her. She sighed hopelessly.

She turned to the confused Iruka.

"Anou, actually we haven't have one – yet." She lied.

Iruka raised his brows, "That's odd. Usually they assign a jounin to a team of gennins right away. Have you asked you r teacher in Academy school about it?" The three just shrugged.

"Uh, okay. So, what are your names?" he asked them.

It was just a simple task, but the three were having a hard time, fumbling for words to say.

Finally, Sakura started to speak, "Anou, his name's Naruto," she pointed at Sasuke. Sasuke's eyes widened. But before he could say something to Sakura, she quickly cut him off, "And he's, uh, Sa-Sakura," she pointed awkwardly at Naruto. Naruto's jaw dropped. "WHAT THE –!"

"And I'm, anou…Sasuke?" she quickly said.

Iruka glanced at the fuming Naruto (the real one).

"Sakura? Well, that's quite an odd name for a boy…"

"Yeah, I know. Funny, huh?" said the real Sakura as she gave an awkward laugh. She winced a bit as she saw the two glaring at her from the corner of her eye.

"Well, nice meeting you guys. Listen, I have to go now so I guess I'll be seeing you guys around. Sayonara!" he waved at them and started to leave when Sakura suddenly blurted out, "Anou, Iruka-sen – err, Iruka-san?"

Iruka turned around, "Hai?"

"Uh, anou…may we ask a favor from you?"

Iruka thought for a moment but then said, "Sure. What is it?"

"Uh, anou…may we please stay in your apartment for tonight?" Iruka blinked, surprised to see Sakura kneeling before him as she bowed, bringing her head to the grassy floor. Sasuke and Naruto stared at her grimly.

"Anou, we don't have anywhere to stay for the night because, uh, we got kicked out from our, uh, apartment. May you please take us in for the night? Onegai? We promise to do some chores for you," she offered. _Okay, this is pathetic._

Iruka blinked at her again. He thought the idea was kind of…awkward, with Sakura kneeling before him. But being the kind person that he was, he finally agreed. They didn't seem to look like spies so he guessed it was okay. But if they were, he could just easily save himself from them.

Sakura's eyes shone brightly with tears. _Yokata!_

"Arigato de gozaimasu!" she kept on saying as she stood up and kept on bowing full front slightly. Iruka raised both his hands near his chest. "It's alright. C'mon, I'll bring you three there right now so you could at least get some rest."

"ARIGATO!" cheered Sakura once more.

Iruka led the way as they walked towards their destination, he, five paces ahead of them as the three trailed quietly behind him. Suddenly, Naruto nudged Sakura in the arm. Sakura looked at him.

"_Sakura?_ What's with that? My name is Naruto and I'm a man!" he moaned at her.

"You know, you should be thanking me. Because of me, we have a place to stay fro the night and I've just prevented a confusion from happening, thank you." She said it defensively.

"What confusion? You just made one!"

"If I hadn't messed up our names, chaos will happen in the future, which is our time! They will know that we've been to their time, or know that we existed in their time, which will only bring confusion! It will affect our future!"

"I hate to say this but I agree with Naruto. And besides, why did you give me _his_ name? It's as if anybody would want to be named after HIM," said Sasuke.

"Hey!" Naruto shot an angry look at him.

Ignoring him, Sasuke continued," Couldn't you, at least, think of something else?"

"Gomen," muttered Sakura, "I've already ran out of ideas."

TBC

* * *

AUTHOR'S NOTES: SO HOW WAS IT? PLEASE, AS A POLIT READER AND REVIEWER, KINDLY LEAVE A MESSAGE REGARDING YOUR COMMENT ON THIS CHAPPIE. HEHEHE…

I'M REALLY SORRY IF IT TOOK SO LONG TO UPDATE THIS STORY. RIGHT NOW, I'M CURRENTLY HANDLING THREE FICS AND PROBABLY-FUTURE FICS ARE ALREADY FORMULATING ON MY NOW SUFFERING BRAIN, WITH THE PRACTICES OF OUR SCHOOL PLAY GOING ON. AND NOW JUST TWO WEEKS TO GO THEN I'M OFF TO SCHOOL AGAIN. HOW FAST TIME FLIES, CRAP!

OKAY, ON WITH THE REVIEWER NOTES:

**THANK YOU SO MUCH TO THOS WHO READ AND REVIEWED THIS STORY NAMELY: himawari, demon-flying, enchantedsleeper **(Yes, just like Harry Potter)**, kc, chokuro, wraith and youku.**

A certain reviewer asked me when this story occurred. Well, this takes place even before Orochimaru or the chuunin exams came in. let's just say this one is one of the 'ordinary days' they have in the series.

And with this I must go now. Ciao!

Japanese words (translation):

Iie – no

Nani – what

Shiranai – I don't know (Believe me, that's what it means)

Matte – wait

Dobe – it means moron – close to that

Baka – idiot

Bakeru – stupid

Dozo/Onegai – please

Yatta – Oh no!

Sumimasen – excuse me

Demo – but

Gomen – sorry


	4. Tension at the Ichiraku

HELLO!

GOMEN NASAI, I KNOW IT TOOK ME SO LONG TO UPDATE THIS FIC BECAUSE A LOT OF THINGS HAD BEEN GOING ON, NOT TO MENTION SCHOOL HAD JUST BEGUN – WITH MY HECTIC SCHEDULE AND ALL! LOL! ANYWAY, I WOULDN'T BE UPDATING MUCH FASTER UNLIKE BEFORE BUT I ASSURE YOU THAT I'LL DO MY BEST TO UPDATE AS SOON AS I CAN GET MY FREE TIME! GAH! SO MUCH WORK TO DO!

**DISCLAIMER: I DO NOT OWN THE MANGA AND THE ANIME, NARUTO.**

**SIR KAKASHI'S IN LOVE? By Sutefani-chan**

**CHAPTER 4**

**TENSION AT THE ICHIRAKU – MEET THE TEACHERS**

Iruka took the keys from his pocket and opened the door, leading them to his humble apartment. Them – as in Naruto, Sakura and Sasuke. The place was nice though, and cozy enough. The walls were painted cream but the bottom part was made of wooden vinyl aligned vertically, side by side – somewhat forming a fence but with a long wooden plank running along the fence of wooden vinyl outlined it. From where they were standing (just behind the front door), a small kitchen with a small and low round table was located on their left. On their right was a small living room with a comfy sofa and a low, rectangular wooden coffee table before it. Before them, just a few meters away were two shoji doors. Beside the kitchen area, another shoji door stood. All in all, the place was fairly nice, even though there were a few cracks forming on some corners of the walls.

"The door on the right before you is, uh, my room and on the left is another room. The bathroom's here, on the far end of the kitchen wall, just there beside that corner," he informed the three while pointing to the bathroom. The three newcomers nodded.

Iruka added, "Oh yeah, anou, Sakura-san and Naruto-san can sleep in my room and the other can be occupied by Sasuke-chan. You will be all alone there, is that alright with you, Sasuke-chan?" He turned to the real Sakura. (A/N: remember? They switched names)

Sakura nodded innocently as the other two winced upon hearing what Iruka had just called them with.

"Anou, Iruka-san? What time is it by the way?" the real Sasuke asked him.

"5:00 pm."

Sasuke blinked but remained his cool. _2 hours had already passed?_

"Speaking of which, I got to prepare now since it's almost dinnertime. You three could rest for a while until dinner's ready. Make yourselves at home."

* * *

"ITADAKIMASU!"

The three ate happily (with Sasuke eating happily in his own way), kneeling around the low wooden dining table. Iruka had prepared miso soup, rice and fish for the evening.

"YATTA! This is the best miso soup I've ever tasted in my life!" cheered Naruto.

Iruka grinned sheepishly, "Arigato."

The four continued eating silently when Sasuke called out, "Anou, Iruka-san? Do you know a certain ninja named Hatake Kakashi?"

Iruka stared at him, suddenly threatening, "How did you know Kakashi-san?"

Sakura and Naruto stared worriedly at Sasuke to Iruka.

"Word on the street, just curious," Sasuke said coolly and stoically.

Iruka continued to stare at him then sighed, his face now relaxed, "Gomen, I didn't mean to do that. Well, anyway, of course, he's my friend, you see…"

"You mean you know Kakashi-sensei?" Naruto suddenly blurted out. Sasuke and Sakura's eyes widened in horror. _Crap! Screw you, Naruto!_

Iruka stared at Naruto, bewildered.

"What did you just say?"

"Uh, err…anou…" Naruto stuttered.

"He, uh, you see, "Sakura-san" idolizes him so much that he wants Kakashi-sen – err, _Kakashi-san_ to be our teacher because obviously, well, Kakashi-sen – err, _Kakashi-san_ is a great ninja and Sakura-san wants to be one too," the real Sakura lied.

"Make that a great Hokage!" Naruto chimed.

"Iruka raised his eyebrows at him, half-smiling, "You want to be a Hokage?" Naruto raised his fist in the air in reply.

Sasuke sighed. _That big mouth of yours._

"I see," Iruka smiled.

"So you actually know Kakashi-sen – err, _Kakashi-san_?" Sakura said hopefully.

"Hai. He's a good friend of mine and is a great jounin –."

"WHAT?" Naruto cried," HE'S A JOUNIN? AT THE AGE OF SIXTEEN?"

The three jumped with Sakura and Sasuke both giving Naruto death glares.

Iruka gave him a befuddled look, "Erm, yes. In fact, he became one two years ago or so.

_So, Kakashi must be really good_, Sasuke thought.

"Wow! Is it true?" Sakura asked, amazed.

Iruka nodded.

"YATTA!" cheered Naruto.

"Tell you what, how about I give you a trip tomorrow and meet a few friends of mine? Including Kakashi-san?" offered Iruka.

"Really?" Sakura's eyes widened. _Right on!_

"Hn…" – Sasuke.

"Hai," smiled Iruka.

"Yehey!" Naruto raised his fist in the air once more.

"Arigato de gozaimasu, Iruka-sen – err, _Iruka-san_," bowed Sakura.

"Sure. No problem," replied Iruka sheepishly as he scratched the back of his head.

* * *

"He's too kind." – Sasuke

"He's too kind to even realize our deception." – Sakura

"That's too deep, Sakura-chan…" – Naruto

"Hmph. Dobe."

"What was that, you ice man!"

"Bakeru! Don't you dare call my Sasuke-kun like that!" she smacked Naruto on the back of his head.

"Aah! Sakura-chaaaaaaan…."

"We should be thankful though that he gave us a place to stay while we're here," she reasoned out.

"And that delicious dinner!" Naruto exclaimed.

"Hmph. He's a ninja. He should have suspected something amiss right from the start," Sasuke said.

"But Iruka-sensei's too kind – like you two had said – which I agree on – and that because of it he totally bought our lie." – Naruto

"Demo…(But) what if he did suspect something and is trying to wait for the right moment to confront us?" – Sakura

Silence.

Sakura sighed," I don't know. My head hurts. I have to go to bed. Oyasumi nasai, Sasuke-kun (Good night, Sasuke-kun)," she added sweetly.

"How about me?" Naruto asked her.

Sighing, she said goodnight to him too.

"Should I at least get a goodnight kiss?" Naruto pleaded. Furious, the girl punched him squarely in the face, "NARUTO NO HENTAII!"

Upon hearing this, Iruka frantically ran out of his room to check if they were okay.

"Sasuke-chan, are you alright?" Iruka asked Sakura and eyed suspiciously at the real Sasuke, who in turn was looking at Iruka as if nothing had happened. **(A/N: The usual…)**

"Oh, I'm fine. We were just – uh…joking around? Well, Naruto-san here (looks at the real Sasuke) said a really funny joke and um…you know what kind of joke it was…" Sakura lied as she tried to avoid the glare Sasuke was throwing at her. Much as she didn't want to blame her beloved Sasuke, she had no choice. It took her a lot of guts to do that.

_Gomen nasai, Sasuke-kun!_

Iruka eyed the real Sasuke distrustfully one last time then noticed that the real Naruto's face was a bit bloated and had a mean large red mark right at the center of his face.

"Uh, is Sakura-san alright?" Iruka asked the two (Sasuke and the real Sakura).

"Oh! He just hit his face on something. No big deal!" the real Sakura quickly said.

"Are you sure he's okay?"

"Don't worry about him. He'll be fine," Sakura smiled at him, trying to make it look like everything was okay.

Iruka looked at them worriedly then turning around, said, "Well, I've got to sleep now, quite a big day ahead tomorrow. Oyasumi nasai!" And with that, he returned to his room. _An odd bunch, those three are…_

When Iruka closed the shoji door behind him and was out of sight and earshot, Sakura hissed, "That's it! I'm gong to bed. Good night!" And with no further ado, she went towards her room and closed the shoji door shut.

"I'm going to bed now," Sasuke said stoically.

"Che!" Naruto muttered.

"Moron."

"WHAT WAS THAT, YOU ICE MAN!"

"NARUTO!" Sakura shrieked.

Suddenly, Iruka came out of his room. "Whoa! Is everything alright!"

* * *

"Ah…what a nice morning!" Naruto exclaimed as he stretched his arms wide and rested his hands on the back of his head.

The following morning – after breakfast – Iruka took the three for a stroll around town before he had to meet with his teammates, just like he had promised the night before. The two (Sakura and Naruto) couldn't help but feel giddy and nervous at the same time to see their teachers in their teenage version. Well. Sasuke apparently, was being Sasuke.

They met almost all of their teachers, or so the chuunins and jounins they knew in their time. Not long ago, they met up with Hyuuga Hinata, Inuzuka Kiba and Aburame Shino's teacher, Yuuhi Kurenai. She was still a gennin when they met her, and Sakura and Naruto agreed that Kurenai was pretty even in her seventeen-year old self. Iruka overheard their conversation and friendly agreed with them about Kurenai, adding a fact about Kurenai and his certain ninja friend named Sarutobi Asuma. (**A/N: Well, we know what that means)**

They continued to walk until they saw a house in their right. Standing before it was a girl in a white-collared sleeveless black kimono that goes down an inch above her knee. Around her waist was a white bandage acting as an obi. Both on her arms, she wore an arm warmer (very much like the ones Sasuke wore, only that the girl's were longer, covering most of her upper arm down to her lower arm). She had straight, shiny black hair that was tied in a ponytail that goes down to her shoulders. A lock of her hair was loose that falls down on her face, and a Konoha head protector was tied on her forehead. The girl seemed to be waiting for somebody when suddenly she caught sight of Iruka from not far enough, waving at him. Iruka seemed to have noticed her call then went straight to her; the three gennins following close behind him.

"Ohayo, Ashuri-chan!" Iruka greeted the girl when they were already face-to-face.

The girl smiled.

"Yoichi's still not here?" Iruka asked, looking around.

Ashuri shook her head, "Iie. I guess he's late again trying to come up with some lame excuse." She suddenly noticed the three behind Iruka.

"Oh, gomen. I forgot," Iruka muttered sheepishly as he scratched the back of his head. Stepping aside to let the three see Ashuri, he introduced the three gennins to the girl.

"Ashuri-chan, these are Naruto-san, Sasuke-chan and Sakura-san. They are newly-appointed gennins but apparently they still have no sensei assigned to them," Iruka said as he introduced Sasuke, Sakura and Naruto respectively. Ashuri smile at them, "Ohayo! My name's Sasaki Ashuri. Yoroshku Onegaishimas! (Nice to meet you!)"

Iruka continued, "Ashuri-chan here is my teammate, along with Yoichi-san but apparently he's still not here yet."

_She's pretty_, Naruto thought as stared into her dark blue eyes. Ashuri noticed the gaping Naruto and smiled at him. By then, Naruto stared away from her, blushing.

"So, what brings you three here?" Ashuri asked them.

"Well, Iruka-sen – err, _Iruka-san _here gave us a walk around Konoha," Sakura said.

"I see," Ashuri said, suddenly noticing Sasuke staring at her as if he was examining her carefully. _Not a very talkative one_, she assumed.

"Actually, we're here to see Kakashi-san on our way to the training grounds," Iruka added. Suddenly, Ashuri's face fell.

"Oh. HIM," she muttered grimly.

Iruka grinned at her. Ashuri snapped at him, "Oh no. Don't you dare tell me you find that amusing, Iruka-san."

"C'mon, that was just a snake. Lighten up. And besides, you're a ninja. A ninja mustn't be afraid of little, harmless snakes," Iruka said, half-laughing.

"Whatever."

Naruto leaned closer to Sakura, "Anou sa… Sakura-chan? What are they talking about?"

"How am I supposed to know?"

"Hn." – Sasuke

"Ne, Iruka-san? Can you do me a favor?" Ashuri asked Iruka.

"Sure."

"Can we please stop talking about it?"

"Now, now, Ashuri-chan. That's not the right thing to do. I think you two should make up, you know."

Ignoring him, Ashuri said, "Sigh! I think we should get going now and fetch Yoichi on our way. You three wanna come?" She asked the three.

"Yatta!" Naruto cheered, "Me wanna come!"

"Arigato, Ashuri-chan!" Sakura bowed.

Sasuke just nodded.

"Alright then. Let's go," and the five of them went. Just as they were walking, Ashuri walked beside Sakura then whispered to her, "Anou…Sasuke-chan? Is Naruto-san usually that uh…stoic?" Ashuri glanced at the real Sasuke who was walking nonchalantly, eyes only focused on the road ahead.

Upon hearing this, Sakura went stiff. Apparently, 'stoic' was not the right word Sakura wanted to hear about her Sasuke-kun. So, coolly, she replied, "Iie (No), Ashuri-chan. Sas – err…Naruto-san's a nice guy, really." _Sasuke-kun's a very, very nice guy._

Ashuri shrugged. "Whatever you say so."

Sakura's nerve twitched.

* * *

Moaning aloud, she threw her hands in the air hopelessly. "Argh! He's not in his house. _He's not in the bathhouse_. He's nowhere to be seen! Where could he be?"

Iruka smirked, "Hmph. Typical Yoichi…"

Looking from Ashuri to Iruka, Sakura tugged the sleeve of Iruka's shirt and asked, "Anou…Iruka-sen – err, Iruka-san?"

Iruka looked at Sakura, "Nande (why), Sasuke-chan?"

"Anou, who's Yoichi-san?"

Grinning mischievously at Sakura, he said, "You'll find out soon enough."

Ashuri grimaced, "Well then, I guess that leaves us one place to find him. If he's not there, I'll shave my head. Damn him, Yoichi."

"Oh, not your hair…" teased Iruka.

They continued to walk until they reached a store. Upon seeing it, Naruto's eyes widened in glee. He threw his hands in the air and then bowed before the open establishment.

"AAAH! RAMEN!"

Sakura and Sasuke threw annoyed looks at Naruto.

Iruka and Ashuri smirked at Naruto.

"Dobe," muttered Sasuke.

"You know, he strongly reminds me of someone," Ashuri whispered to Iruka. Iruka snickered and then walked into the store, with the four (Naruto managed to stand up after Sakura knocked him squarely on the head) following close behind him.

Looking around, Iruka tried to find a red, spiky-haired boy amidst the customers sitting and ordering at the counter. He stopped his gaze to his right. A grin was brought to his lips.

Signaling for the four to come, they crept towards the spiky-haired boy past the other customers, with Ashuri sweeping past them and she was now in the lead.

As they were approaching nearer and nearer to the boy, they could hear him speak to himself with satisfaction in his tone.

"Mmmm…this is the best ramen I've ever tasted! I could order ten more to boost my day today! Demo, Ashuri-chan might get mad at me for being late again five times in a row. But I'm sure she and Iruka-san will understand. After all, this is for the benefit of the training –!"

"BENEFIT OF THE TRAINING YOURSELF!" With a single blow, Ashuri knocked the redhead gennin off his seat and landed hard on the ground with swirls on his eyes and a rather large bump on his head.

"Aahhhhh…Ash-chan…" moaned Yoichi.

"And don't you dare call me 'Ash-chan', you tardy pig!"

"Just as I've suspected. Having a ramen feast again, eh, Yoichi?" smirked Iruka.

The three stared at the boy named Yoichi.

_So this is Yoichi?_ Inner Sakura thought, doubting.

"You're late! How many times do I have to tell you that you should show up on time? We've been searching for you and all this time you're here in Ichiraku, eating ramen!" snapped Ashuri at Yoichi.

"Demo, I'm hungry!" Yoichi moaned some more then he suddenly noticed that they had company. "Yo," he started.

As if he was snapped back to reality, Iruka suddenly apologized and then introduced the three.

"Aahh…gomen ne, I forgot. Yoichi, this is Naruto-san." He pointed to Sasuke. Yoichi grinned at him but all he got from Sasuke was a grunt.

"Ohayo!" Sakura waved at Yoichi but then put her hand down immediately, blushing as she caught Yoichi winking at her.

"…And last but not the least, this is Sakura-sa – wait, where's Sakura-san?" he looked around trying to see where the real Naruto had gone off to when he caught sight of the blonde boy sitting at the counter ordering two miso ramen.

Sasuke grumbled, "Bakeru."

"And that is Sakura-san," Iruka sighed.

When the clerk had served the bowl of ramen in front of Naruto, the boy immediately took the chopsticks beside the bowl and then without hesitation, he devoured the noodles in one gulp. The four's jaws dropped. Yoichi, however, stared at Naruto with pride. "You like ramen?"

Naruto shook his head, "Correction: I LOVE ramen."

"Honto? (Really?) Me too!"

"Then you two should be perfect soul mates," Ashuri commented grimly.

"No, no, Ashuri-chan. When it comes to the law of ramen-worshipping, two ramen-lovers should not treat each other as soul mates but rather as rivals for the title "THE Ramen King". I, Suzuhara Yoichi, therefore challenge you, Sakura-san, to a ramen-eating showdown!"

"YOICHI!" Ashuri and Iruka both bellowed.

"Naruto, don't…do…it," fumed Sakura.

_It's no use,_ Sasuke thought, _there's nothing that you can do._

Sasuke was right for before the three could stop Naruto, the boy immediately agreed and then ordered four bowls of ramen.

Yoichi smirked at him, "Ha! Is that all you can eat?"

Naruto snapped at him furiously, "This is just batch one!" Then he sneered at Yoichi mockingly, "Why? Scared that I might beat you, you spiky-haired freak!"

Sakura's eyes widened in shock. _Oh boy! Here we go!_

Yoichi's nerves twitched. "Who are you calling a spiky-haired freak, you noisy wart?" Then he turned to the surprised clerk behind the counter. "Four bowls of beef ramen, dozo (please)!"

As soon as Yoichi and Naruto's orders were served, they immediately grabbed the pair of chopsticks before them and the first bowl of ramen each.

"On the count of three, we immediately start and finish batch one. Whoever reaches batch three first will be declared as the winner, and shall hold the title Ramen King." Yoichi explained.

"Sounds cheesy but bring it on!" Naruto cheered.

"Alright, one…"

Sakura clenched her teeth and started to head towards Naruto and knock him off when Iruka held out his hand to stop her.

"Nah, Sasuke-chan. There's nothing we can do about it now, knowing Yoichi. And I assume your teammate is as well?"

Sakura sighed. He was right; when it comes to ramen and challenges, no one could beat the fighting spirit of Naruto.

Sasuke threw an annoyed look at Naruto. _Naruto, you ravenous pig._

"Two…"

"Yoichi, I'm giving you a fair warning. If you don't stop this ridicule this instant, you're gonna be real sorry, buddy!" Ashuri threatened Yoichi. But Yoichi wasn't listening. He held the chopsticks firmly between his fingers.

"THREE!" Immediately, the two started devouring the noodles in big gulps, one bowl at a time. By now, they were already on bowl number two.

"Grrr…we're late for training – AGAIN! And it's HIS entire fault – AGAIN! Considering Hideki-sensei's personality, we're dead!" groaned Ashuri.

"Maa, maa, Ashuri-chan. I'm sure Hideki-sensei will understand," said Iruka.

"Since when does he understand? The first rule in his little black book is punctuality; he told us that. I don't want to spend the entire the week collecting twigs in two forests when we should be preparing for the chuunin exams!"

Upon hearing the last part of her sentence, the two gennins' heads turned to her.

"The-what?" Sakura mumbled.

_Isn't that the exam you have to take in order to become a chuunin?_ Wondered Sasuke.

"Oh, speaking of which," Ashuri turned to the two, "Are you three going to take the exam?"

"Ashuri-chan, they still don't have a sensei. Secondly, they're still newly appointed gennins – according to them," Iruka cut in.

"Nevertheless, they have the right. What if they don't need D-Rank missions to actually prove their worth? What if they actually have now what it takes to become a chuunin even though they've just gotten out of the academy? I'm sure we could at least, talk about it and settle things. So what do you guys think?" She returned to the two.

"Uh…anou…" Sakura was fumbling for words to say. _obviously, I have no idea what you're talking about. _

"We'll think about it," Sasuke said. Ashuri raised her brows at him; _it's about time you spoke._

Sakura stared at Sasuke dreamily. _Sasuke-kun, you're a genius!_

Ashuri was about to say something when suddenly Iruka cut her off, "Oh, look who just came! Over here!" He waved his hand for the newcomer to notice them.

Upon seeing Iruka's signal, the newcomer approached them.

Sakura and Sasuke turned around to see who it was. Sakura gasped. _He's…he's…_! The newcomer was none other than…

"Yo."

"Kakashi-sensei," muttered Sakura under her breath. _Whoa!_

"Ohayo, Kakashi-san!" said Iruka. "This is Sasuke-chan, Naruto-san and that one over there beside Yoichi is Sakura-san. They're newly appointed gennins and apparently they have no sensei yet appointed to them."

"I see," said Kakashi as he looked at Naruto and Yoichi, bewildered. He raised his visible brow at them. "Are they…?"

"Don't ask," Iruka replied grimly.

Sasuke stared at Kakashi, studying him carefully. The Kakashi that was now standing before them was no less than similar to the sensei they knew. As suspected, he was wearing his trademark fashion, which was his mask. His silver hair was a bit shorter and his forehead protector was tied askew in the front, covering is left eye – which Sasuke and Sakura assumed that his Sharingan was already present, with the mystery as of why he had it still lingered in their minds.

He wasn't wearing his jounin outfit though, only his jounin vest. Underneath his vest, he was wearing a dark blue loose shirt. For the bottom part, he was wearing black pants and on his feet was a pair of black sandals.

"Ha! One more bowl and I beat you!" Naruto boasted.

"I don't think so, you noisy wart!" Yoichi yelled.

"What batch are they in now?" Sakura asked Iruka.

"Batch two and apparently, they're on the last bowl now."

Suddenly, Kakashi noticed that Ashuri was there as well.

"Yo!" Kakashi greeted her.

"Hello," Ashuri replied blankly without looking at him.

"Haha! I win! I beat you!"

The three (not including Kakashi and Ashuri) turned to the two. They found two completely different ninjas now. The other ninja was sulking whereas the other one was throwing his fists in the air.

"I won! I won! I won!"

Guess who was the "Ramen King"?

Yoichi rubbed his tummy with satisfaction. "I told you I'd eventually win. Nobody can beat the famous Suzuhara Yoichi! But I must say, you fought very well. You took my challenge with dignity and honor, and carried the two all the way to the finish line. I respect you for that."

Suddenly, Naruto stood up and raised his fist in a challenging manner at Yoichi.

"Do you think I give up so easily? Ha! That's where you're wrong! I demand a rematch – ACK!" Sakura hit him hard on the head.

"Bakeru!" She hissed at him. Then, turning to Yoichi, she said sheepishly, "Gomen nasai (I'm sorry), Yoichi-san. Naru – err…Sakura-san's normally like that. He's just plain weird and hyperactive, hehe…"

"I understand you, Sasuke-chan. But a true gentleman must accept his defeat. Sakura-san, as your consequence, you are to fully pay the tab of the orders of ramen we ate for the challenge."

Naruto's jaw dropped, "NANI?" (WHAT?)

"Ne, Yoichi-san? Don't tell me you found another victim to pay your bill again, eh?"

"Now, am I really that predictable?" grinned Yoichi as he scratched his head sheepishly. Upon hearing it, Naruto threw a comical glare at Yoichi.

"WHY YOU –! You think you can get away with it? I won't let you! My name's Uzu – mff! Mff!" Horrified, Sakura quickly grabbed Naruto and covered his mouth.

"Now, now…we all know who you are, Sakura-san. You don't have to tell us," lied the real Sakura then she gave an awkward laugh.

_Darn you, Naruto! You're going to put us into so much trouble!_

Sasuke glared at Naruto, "Dobe."

Kakashi, Iruka and Yoichi smirked. Ashuri, however, was feeling uncomfortable with the situation.

"Gomen nasai, Iruka-san, Yoichi, but I think we should get going now. Hideki-sensei might be waiting for us," said Ashuri.

"You know, you don't have to be a party pooper, Ashuri-san," said Kakashi. As if automatically, Ashuri glared at him, "Who asked you to talk?"

Everyone else sweat dropped.

"Uh, anou…I think we should get going now. C'mon, Yoichi, Ashuri-san," excused Iruka as he led Yoichi and Ashuri out of the ramen store. But Kakashi wasn't through with her yet.

"Are you acting all bitter because of what I did to you? Or, are you acting all bitter because, well, normally you are?" he called out.

Ashuri snapped at him, "That's none of your business."

"Uh, hehe, we're late now. C'mon," Iruka sweat dropped.

"Why don't you answer me, Ash-chan?" mocked Kakashi.

_Darn you, Kakashi. Now you've done it! _Iruka glanced worriedly at Ashuri to Kakashi, then to Ashuri again.

Naruto tugged the sleeve of Yoichi's jacket.

"Anou…what's going on? Why is Ashuri-chan so angry? Anou, who is that silver-haired guy?"

"Hatake-san said something not nice to Ashuri-chan, and we don't like it when Ashuri-chan's mad," Yoichi replied.

"Hatake-san?" Naruto wondered as he tried to remember where and when he heard that surname, when Sakura suddenly hissed at him, "That's Kakashi-sensei, you idiot! That's him, ten years younger! Where have you been?"

Naruto's eyes widened. _Nani? That's Kakashi-sensei?_

Ashuri suddenly gave Kakashi her death glare, her eyes narrowing as her aura changed, turning deeper and darker. Her skin turned pale as black swirls of chakra started to formulate around her.

Yoichi and Iruka panicked. This wasn't the Ashuri they've known before.

Ashuri continued to glare at Kakashi, feeling her blood rise and her heart beat furiously. She could feel the heat of her chakra around her. Feeling power rising inside her, she wanted to release it, wanting to drain it until there's nothing left in her. Chakra started to formulate on her hands, creating mass balls of it. She HAD to release it; she HAD to do it, and she knew it would definitely hurt him…

She loathed him, despised him…

…But she restrained herself from doing so. Taking a deep breath, she managed to relax until the swirls of chakra around her and on her hands vanished and the color of her skin returned to normal. Her eyes turned back to being normal too.

Turning her back on him, she said coldly, "What if I tell you the reason why I'm acting this bitter is the fact that I can't stand you?"

Silence fell upon them as everyone else stared at them.

She continued, "Gomen nasai, but we really have to go now. Naruto-san, Sasuke-chan, Sakura-san," she bowed her head to the three. "C'mon, Yoichi, Iruka-san." Then she walked out, with Iruka and Yoichi following close behind her as soon as they've waved goodbye to the three gennins and to Kakashi. Not long, Kakashi bid goodbye to them too and he disappeared with a puff of smoke.

"That was odd," Sasuke muttered.

"I know. What did Kakashi-sensei do to her?" wondered Naruto.

"Not that, dobe! I was wondering about the weird chakra she showed a while ago. Her aura disturbingly changed and so did her appearance."

"Sasuke-baka! Don't call me a 'dobe'!"

"Sasuke-kun's not an idiot, idiot!" snapped Sakura at Naruto.

"Aww…Sakura-chaaan…"

Suddenly, the clerk handed Naruto his bill.

"Here's your bill, kid, with Yoichi-kun's meal already added there."

Naruto checked the bill then his jaw dropped.

"WHAT! I'M GOING TO PAY THIS BIG!" Searching in his pockets, he took out his coin purse and took out everything that he had there, only to find out it wasn't enough to pay for the entire meal. He looked pleadingly to Sakura. Knowing what this meant, she quickly refused to let him loan money or anything for the matter.

"Sakura-chaaan…!"

"NO!"

"Onegai? (Please?)"

"NO!"

He stared at Sasuke. _No, there's no way I'm gonna plead to him!_

_Bakeru! You need to! _A voice in his mind told him.

Struggling as to whether he should or he should not, he finally came to a decision. Slowly swallowing his pride, he forced himself to look at him straight in the eye, and then forcedly clapping his hands together with his eyes closed, he said, "C-Can I–p-please b-borr…b-borrow money from y-you?"

* * *

"Kakashi-san really pushed it now," said Iruka as he took a sip from his jug.

Yoichi nodded as he was shining his kunai, "Ashuri-chan wasn't acting that mad before, but with Hatake-san I think she overdid it."

"Iie. I think Kakashi-san overdid it," Iruka chuckled.

"Demo (but), what she did was quite odd."

Iruka turned to Yoichi.

Yoichi continued, "Was that an advanced bloodline she just showed?"

"The Sasaki family doesn't have a bloodline limit and you know that."

"I know. Then, what was that?" muttered Yoichi worriedly as he glanced at the direction where Ashuri was currently training with their Hideki-sensei.

"Beats me, but that definitely was not a bloodline limit."

Stretching his arms, Yoichi groaned, "Why does Hatake-san have to be that rude to Ashuri-chan? Just because he's already a jounin doesn't mean he can treat regular gennins like that!"

"But Ashuri-chan's not a regular gennin," Iruka muttered to himself.

"Nani?"

"Oh! Nandemonai! Nandemonai! (Nothing! Nothing!)" Iruka grinned as he stared away from Yoichi.

_What are you up to now, Kakashi-san? _Iruka sighed.

TBC

* * *

AUTHOR'S NOTES: At last! I've finished typing it and now it's posted! Woohoo! Gomen nasai if it took me sooo long to update since school really kept me busy, with the play rehearsals, school paper demands, and the "ever-enjoyable" schoolwork. To top it all off, next week will be our exams and I desperately need to study so it might take some time before I update again.

Ah! I know, one long chappie? But let this be my gift to you since I owe you guys one fast update, and I didn't give you one. So I hope you like this one. Remember: Be a sweetie and leave a review! Alright, pathetic…

I would really appreciate it if you tell me what I lack or the weak points of this chapter, especially if there's something wrong with my Japanese words. Kindly state those mistakes in a polite manner and leave an advice about what I should do to make this story better. Arigato!

Now, on with the reviewer notes:

I wanna give a big hug and thank you to those who read and reviewed this fic!

**Kakashigurl20, sekid, Magic Anime Goddess, ReXiaPHoN and Delusionized Hatake!**

**Kathy: **Who's Iruka?Actually, Iruka was Team 7's academy teacher. He is the brown-haired teacher that has his hair in a high pony and he is definitely not Kakashi. As for Kakashi's love…you'll find out soon enough. (Though this chappie already gave a hint)

**Corrector of doom: **now, I've introduced young Kakashi! Wehehehe…I thought 'yatta' means "oh no…" and yes, thank you for the Kakashi info. He is such a child prodigy…

**Cheshire Cat in My Grave: **Thank you! Now, about your review. What did you mean about "Isn't Iruka…?"? Just to let you know, if you're thinking that this is a gay fic –which I hope I'm wrong – well, this is not a gay fic.

**XoXSilverDragonXoX: **Gah! (Jaw drops to the ground) I can't believe this! XoXSilverDragonXoX, I heart your kakashixoc fics especially "In Love With a Ghost"! And now you've read and reviewed my fic! LOL! Forgive me for my sudden excitement. Anyways, I'm really glad you loved it. Wehehe…don't worry. I won't work myself too hard.

And to others who had read this fic, ARIGATO DE GOZAIMASU!

And now I must go. Ciao!

**INFO:**

**SASAKI ASHURI**

AGE: 15

SENSEI: TAKANI HIDEKI (I made him up)

HAIR: LONG, STRAIGHT BLACK THAT IS TIED IN A PONY THAT GOES DOWN TO HER SHOULDERS.

EYES: DARK BLUE

SKIN: FAIR

RANK: GENNIN

PERSONALITY: CAN BE BOSSY AT TIMES (SINCE SHE'S APPOINTED AS SOMEHOW THE LEADER OF THE GROUP); LIKES TO WEAR BLACK

**SUZUHARA YOICHI**

AGE: 14 TURNING 15

SENSEI: SAME AS ASHURI'S

HAIR: RED AND SPIKY

EYES: VIOLET

SKIN: TANNED

RANK: GENNIN

RELATION TO ASHURI: TEAMMATE (WITH IRUKA AS WELL); THIRD COUSIN OF ASHURI

PERSONALITY: MUCH LIKE GAI'S AND NARUTO'S COMBINED


	5. We're Going to the Chuunin Exams!

OHAYO! I'M SOOOOOOO SORRY FOR HAVING YOU WAIT LONG…GOMEN NASAI!

**DISCLAIMER: I DO NOT OWN THE MANGA AND THE ANIME, NARUTO.**

**SIR KAKASHI'S IN LOVE? By Sutefani-chan **

**CHAPTER 5**

**WE'RE GOING TO THE CHUUNIN EXAMS!**

_Flashback – 3 days ago before their arrival in the early Konoha_

Slowly blowing smoke from his pipe, he stared at the army of ninjas in front of him. He had been expecting them. Of course! He was the one who had them summoned. Jounins and chuunins filled the hall with enthusiasm and excitement as they waited for him to speak. And so, he wouldn't waste time.

He lifted his hand. Immediately, silence fell upon them.

He started, "I assume most of you already know the reason why I had you all sent here?"

A few murmurs filled the room.

He continued, "A few weeks from now, a very important and special event will take place here, in Konoha."

"What is it?" one of the ninjas asked.

"The Chuunin Selection Exam."

Upon hearing it, murmurs started to fill the hall once more.

The Hokage cleared his throat.

Silence.

He started, "This is a very important event that will strengthen and foster our relationship with other countries. And so, even though we do this twice a year, I still ask your full cooperation, all of you, in preparing the gennins and the venues to be used for the exams."

"When will this take place, Hokage-sama?"

Sandaime paused for a moment, then said, "A week after this."

The crowd became restless. A week of preparation for them wasn't enough, especially since a lot of missions suddenly flocked in and they kept on coming.

"Yes, you have a week to prepare. The Council has decided on whom the proctors are going to be for each part of the exam. Your names will be called so as you will be recognized. After this meeting, you are required to stay to discuss further what you are supposed to do and about which part of the exam you are assigned to. As for the jounins who are assigned to each team, your task is to present to me selected gennins from your team whom you think, based on your observations and experiences, are worthy and ready to take the Chuunin exam," explained the Hokage, and then nodded to his assistant chuunin to take over. The blonde-haired chuunin took a scroll from the pocket of his vest and unrolled it. He spoke, "Once I call your name, you are to present the gennins through stating their full names as Souchirou writes them down." The blonde-haired chuunin pointed at his fellow chuunin in his right. Upon hearing his name, Souchirou waved his hand, a pen tucked in between his index finger and his middle finger.

The blonde-haired chuunin returned his gaze to the scroll, and, clearing his throat, started to read the first name written on his scroll.

"Iizuka Koji."

A tall man with a bonnet bearing the sign of Konoha on his forehead went in front of the Hokage and presented his students' names.

"I present to you my candidates for this year's Chuunin Exams: Sarutobi Asuma, Uchiha Nika and Mido Takeshi." Said Koji. As soon as he was finished, the blonde-haired chuunin continued and read the second name aloud, waiting for them to present their students before going on with the next names.

"Takani Aya…"

"Yamaino Enishi…"

"Takani Hideki…"

When Hideki's name was called, the jounin was immediately in front of the blonde-haired chuunin. The chuunin was surprised, and was furthermore surprised when Team 8's sensei presented to the blonde-haired chuunin a scroll containing the names of his students. Then, Hideki turned to the Hokage.

"Hokage-sama, I present to you my candidates, my students, for this year's Chuunin Exams," exclaimed Hideki with dignity.

"Oh brother!" murmured Aya scathingly.

Hideki continued, "Umino Iruka…Sasaki Ashuri…Suzuhara Yoichi."

As soon as he was finished, he backed a little.

"Erm…that was, erm, prepared of you, Takani-san…" said the blonde-haired chuunin. As soon as everyone was called (and that everyone had presented their students), the Hokage spoke.

"Now that you've finished presenting your students, I expect you to hand out the forms to them during your training. Now remember, neighboring countries will be participating. This event's purpose is not about seeing who's more powerful; rather its goal is to strengthen our allegiance to other countries. Its purpose also is to hone the skills of our aspiring gennins, and also to recognize the potentials in each and every one of them. I expect this year's event to turn out to be a peaceful and successful one. Forms and guidelines of the exam will be given out as you exit the room. Of there are no more questions, them I call this meeting adjourned.'

End of flashback _

* * *

Present day – two days after their arrival in Konoha._

"Aww…anou, can you please lower the price of the carrots? Onegai?" pleaded Naruto to the shopkeeper.

"Iie!"

"But it's too expensive!"

"I told you, no!"

It was two days after their fateful encounter with their young sensei. Apparently, the three (Sasuke, Sakura and Naruto) were busy doing the grocery in the supermarket. Was it voluntarily done? Well, thanks to Sakura, each of them were now carrying baskets, running here and there, completing the list Iruka had given them. According to Naruto, instead of wasting their time buying fruits and the like, looking like a bunch of weirdos while carrying baskets, they should be hanging out with their teenage Iruka-sensei. According to Sakura, it was only proper of them to do the chore for their Iruka-sensei since the deed already serves as a token of gratitude to Iruka. According to Sasuke…well, he didn't really care much.

"Ayyyyyyyyeeeeeee! I'll give you two –ACK!" Sakura suddenly cut off Naruto as the pink-haired kunoichi smacked Naruto in the head with her basket.

"Hehe, gomen nasai. Just ignore this annoying stranger, sir, hehe..." Sakura apologized to the shopkeeper and she dragged Naruto away from the stall.

As soon as they were away from the market, she screamed at Naruto.

"What were you thinking?"

"Nani? I was just trying to haggle and lower the price!"

"You weren't! You were trying to kill us all! Kill us of embarrassment!"

"Ne, Sakura-chaaaaaaaaaan…."

"Pathetic," murmured Sasuke.

"Shut up, Sasuke-baka!" shot Naruto at Sasuke. Upon hearing this, Sakura smacked Naruto with her basket full of hard radishes right on his face. "Wah! Don't you dare call him like that, you wart!"

"Wah…that hurts…"

"Served you right."

"Ne, kiddos, how's it going?"

Suddenly, the two stopped and the three of them turned. Ashuri was there in front of them, smiling with her hands on her hips.

"Ohayo, Ashuri-sempai!" waved Sakura.

"Uh, hi, Ashuri-chan…" grinned Naruto sheepishly as he scratched the back of his neck.

"Ohayo, Sasuke-chan, Sakura-kun! Ohayo, Naruto-kun!" smiled Ashuri at the real Sasuke after greeting the two. Sasuke just gave a "hmph" and the stared away.

_Should have known_, thought Ashuri grimly. (A/N: remember, the three swapped names.) Then, she turned her attention towards the two.

She bent slightly and peered at their baskets.

"Hmm…lemme' guess. Shopping, eh?"

"For Iruka-sen – err…Iruka-sempai," said Sakura.

Ashuri pointed her finger at Sakura, "Don't tell me you're running errands for him?"

"Ahehe…it's the least we can do for thanking him for letting us stay in his apartment," grinned Sakura.

"Aren't you guys supposed to be training for the upcoming Chuunin exams?" asked Ashuri.

"The-what?" asked Naruto, confused.

"The Chuunin exams, you dimwit," hissed Sakura.

"Oh that! I knew that, of course!" lied Naruto, crossing his arms.

"As if," said Sasuke. Naruto stuck out his tongue at Sasuke.

"Uhm, are we allowed to? You know…join?" asked Sakura.

"I believe every gennin has the right to become a chuunin and so I think there's no reason for you not to join. All you need is a recommendation from your sensei and that you must be a registered gennin. That's it. Well, of course, you've got to be prepared also…" shrugged Ashuri.

"Ah, that's easy. We've got it all taken care of…" lied Sakura. _Gah! Where on earth will we find a teacher? _

"So, you've found yourself a sensei? Who? Who?" Ashuri's eyes brightened.

"Uh…anou…"

"Of course we have a sensei! And it's none other than Kakashi-sensei, duh!" bragged Naruto.

Sakura and Sasuke suddenly turned to Naruto, mortified.

_Gah! Curse you, Naruto!_ – Inner Sakura.

"Kakashi's...your…sensei?" asked Ashuri bluntly.

"Ah…hehe, um, we can explain?" grinned Sakura.

Silence.

"Bwahahahahahaha! That white-haired freak's your sensei? The scarecrow's your sensei? Like what does he teach you, dog tricks?" laughed Ashuri.

"And what if I really do teach them dog tricks? What's wrong with that?" Suddenly, a voice came out. Kakashi was walking towards them.

"Aww…look who came! Did you just finish cleaning dog poop? That was very nice of you. Okay, bye now," said Ashuri sarcastically.

"And what's wrong if I teach them?"

"Well, I was just being considerate on this kids. I don't want their minds to get 'polluted', you know what I mean?"

"Well, at least I know I can teach better dog tricks than you do, Ash-chan."

Oh boy, here we go again, Sakura thought. 

Suddenly, electric sparks were seen flying and then the background suddenly turned frighteningly dark.

"Anou…why is it night already?" wondered Naruto.

"Bakeru! Why do you have to ask always?" Argh!" hissed Sakura at Naruto as she hit him hard on the head with her elbow.

"Oww…Sakura-chan…"

Ashuri cut her glare at Kakashi and then heaved a sigh. "There's no use wasting my time on you. If you would excuse me, I need to find Hideki-sensei and so we could start our training."

"How very teacher's pet of you."

"What's that you said, dog face!"

"You haven't even seen my face!"

"You're such a freak."

"At least I know I'm good-looking, Goth pig."

"Why...you! Argh! Curse you to the eighteen gates of a pig's den! You're the pig! Oh yeah, men are not pigs. Pigs are sensitive and thoughtful creatures. You're a bore instead."

"Anou…aren't pigs and bores the same?"

"Shut up, it's nonsense to talk to you further," then Ashuri turned to the three sweetly, "Sumimasen, but I need to go now. Ja ne!" and then she left. After a few minutes, Kakashi left also, saying that he had to go see the Hokage.

"Hmmm…that was very entertaining," said Sakura sarcastically.

"That was immature of them," said Sasuke.

"Anou…I wonder why they're like that…" wondered Naruto. Suddenly, Sakura snapped her fingers and squealed.

"Anou sa…anou sa…ne, Sakura-chan? What is it? Nani desuka? Nani? Nani?"

"Duh! They're in love! That's why they're acting like that is that they have a thing for each other!"

"Ah…huh?" Naruto scratched his head in confusion.

"Hello? That's the concept of the love-hate relationship. 'The more you hate, the more you love.' That's what's happening to them right now. They might be fighting but deep inside they have feelings for each other!"

Sasuke rolled his eyes, "This is pathetic."

"Well, yeah, it's a bit pathetic," Sakura lied, blushing.

_It's pathetic, but this I got to see!_ Inner Sakura cheered.

"Hey, how about let's spy on them!" Naruto suggested, giving an evil grin.

"NANI? ARE YOU CRAZY?" gasped Sakura. _Hai! Hai! Hai! Way to go, Naruto!_

"Or are you two just chickens – ACK! Ne, Sakura-chan!" Naruto moaned after he had just received am ultimate mighty blow from the kunoichi.

"And here you start again! Curse you to the eighteen gates of ramen-less world, you ravenous pig!"

"Ramen? Did you just say ramen?"

Sakura delivered another ultimate blow. And Sasuke, well, he couldn't care less.

Sakura gripped her basket tightly and stubbornly sat cross-legged on the ground.

"Well, come to think of it, we can. We can spy on them while finding of a way out of here…WE HAVE TO GET IN THE CHUUNIN EXAMS!

"NANI!" Naruto and Sasuke both exclaimed.

"Well, since Ashuri-sempai and Kakashi-sensei's going to be there, we have to be in there as well! I know Kakashi-sensei doesn't need to take the exams since he's already a jounin, but I'm sure he's gonna be there. We have to be with them at all times."

"Especially when one of them is in the bathroom?" suggested Naruto.

_Bakeru,_ thought Sasuke.

"Uhm, except that, of course," blushed Sakura.

"That's impossible," said Sasuke.

"What's impossible, Sasuke-kun?"

"It's impossible that we ca join the Chuunin exams. First, we're not registered gennins in this time. Second, we don't have a sensei. How on earth can we join the exams when we don't have those two? They can look it up so easily and realize that we're frauds."

"Gah! I haven't thought of that!" gasped Naruto.

"It's because you never think, baka," said Sasuke.

"Well, if we can sneak inside and secretly add our 'registered forms' in the Bingo Book..." wondered Sakura.

"Yatta! That's a great idea, Sakura-chan!" cheered Naruto as he did a 'yes' gesture.

"And how are we going to do that?" said Sasuke.

"Well, we didn't attend ninja school for nothing. Don't you ever think, Sasuke-teme?" smirked Naruto at Sasuke.

Naruto continued, "Later, this lunch break, we're gonna sneak inside the office in the Shinobi Academy and place our registered forms along with the other forms. Then, they'll see it and add it to the Bingo Book. This is gonna be a piece of cake," he grinned evilly while rubbing his palms.

* * *

WAH! I'M FINISHED. SIGH…. I'M REALLY SORRY I HAD YOU WAIT LONG. (BOWS DOWN) GOMEN! OH YEAH, SASUKE WAS ACTUALLY SHOPPING! HAHA! SERVES HIM RIGHT BY THE WAY, KAKASHI WASN'T READING THE ICHA ICHA PARADISE YET. BY WHAT ASHURI HAD SAID ABOUT KAKASHI TEACHING THE THREE DOG TRICKS, WELL, ASHURI ASSUMES THAT KAKASHI IS ONE PERVERTED FREAK. KAKASHI GETS TO READ THE BOOK WHEN HE TURNS 18.

THANK YOU FOR THE WONDERFUL REVIEWS!

JA NE!


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